With every NFL season, there’s bound to be some surprises, but this year, perhaps none have been greater than the performances of Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts. In fact, it’s to the point where, following their lopsided victory against the Las Vegas Raiders, perhaps it’s no longer a surprise.
Advertisement
Indianapolis now stands atop the AFC with the Buffalo Bills, who look to be its last remaining rivals. Both teams are now 4-1 following the New England Patriots’ upset win on Sunday Night Football, and they figure to be neck and neck the rest of the way.
The Colts have been the model of consistency throughout the first five weeks of the season. Each of their four wins has come by an average of more than 20 points, and they’ve even managed to outscore Buffalo so far.
Despite them having the reigning MVP in Josh Allen, the Colts have still outproduced the Bills 163 to 153. Jones’ six passing touchdowns have certainly helped out, but so too has the rushing prowess of Jonathan Taylor.
The 26-year-old veteran looks to be in his prime, having already scored six times while racking up 480 rushing yards. Coming into Week 5, he was averaging a robust 5.38 yards per carry, and he’s now averaging 18.8 rushing attempts per contest.
Factor in Michael Pittman, who’s seeing a resurgence in his own production, and it becomes pretty clear that this Colts team is far from fraudulent. At 28 years of age, the six-year wideout is seeing his receiving metrics return towards those of his rookie and sophomore campaigns, and the four receiving touchdowns that he’s already managed to produce mark the second-highest single-season total of his entire career.
Suffice to say, when your RB1 and WR1 are both in the primes of their careers, the job becomes a lot easier for Jones, who many had abandoned following his departure from New York. Nevertheless, his odds to win this year’s MVP award are still the 11th longest of any player in the league, while the aforementioned Allen remains the frontrunner to take home a second consecutive title.
In defense, the gap is even bigger. The Bills allowed 113 points while the Colts conceded just 80, which is less than 18 points on average.
Looking ahead to Week 6, the Colts will have a rather favorable match-up against an Arizona Cardinals team that just imploded against the Tennessee Titans. If they can get past the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7 as well, then an even friendlier match-up against the Titans will be there for them in Week 8.
Simply put, Indianapolis has an incredibly real shot at going 7-1 through the first half of the season. Should that prove to be the case, then they’ll likely become one of the odds-on favorites to win not just the division, but the conference championship as a whole.
